Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter describes the physiology of androgens and glucocorticoid hormones. It discusses the quantity of adrenal androgens produced by the adrenal cortex relative to cortisol. Aldosterone is produced predominantly in the zona glomerulosa and its synthesis is under complex control by many factors, but the renin–angiotensin system is predominant. Cortisol is secreted mainly by the zona fasiculata with a small proportion by the zona reticularis, and secretion is controlled by adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). Adrenal androgens are produced mainly in the zona reticularis, but some synthesis also occurs in the zona fasciculata. ACTH has profound influences, but there is evidence that pituitary factors other than ACTH also have major effects on adrenal androgen production, particularly during the prepubertal period. Testosterone and its potent 5α-reduced metabolite, 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), are important in normal sexual differentiation. Testosterone is responsible for the virilization of the male internal genital tract and DHT causes development of the male external genitalia.
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